So…yeah…this past Saturday…I ran a half marathon.
Technically, I signed up for the Lucky 13 Half Marathon in Davis, CA (along with a few others) prior to my injury. I worked closely with my coach to watch my recovery progress as we approached race day the plan was to use the half marathon as a normal, zone two (maybe a bit of zone three) training run. It would be my PDR post-injury and I am always anxious to see how my ankle will react as we try new distances again. With that, the half marathon was on.
My alarm was set for 5 a.m. so Chicken Face, Lola and I would have plenty of time to eat, get ready and head to Davis for a little jaunt. For the first time in my racing history, I completely overslept and only had 15 minutes to get ready, shove food down my face and get on the road. This must have been my subconscious not worrying about the race, as it was just a training run after all. Right?
Chicken Face dropped me off at the start and he made his way to get his caffeine kick. I went to pick-up my bib and use the restroom, and it turned out I had plenty of pre-race time to kill. As I made my way to the start, I spotted RoseRunner and Faster Bunny (ok, ok, Caitlin and Margot). Margot was up from SoCal and I knew she would be running with Caitlin, but I hadn’t made any plans to run with them (I barely knew if I was going to see them). When I spotted gals, I leaped toward them and probably scared Margot with my immediate hugs.
As we stood there chatting, I professed my plan to keep it an easy 8-8:30/mi. basic training run, but as soon as that gun went off, it triggers my head and my heart. Most of the time, I can’t contain it and I thought what the hell, let’s see how long I can stay with them and then I’ll taper back.
So we ran and talked and ran and talked some more. We chatted about Marissa Mayer and her ridiculous no WFH policy (we can debate that later), pasty skin, dairy, and probably a story I shouldn’t have told when so many other people were around (let alone Margot as this was the first time I’ve ever met her). Caitlin, the stud that she is, just ran a stellar marathon last week and was cruising like it was a recovery run for her as we put down these splits:
M1: 7:28
M2: 7:32
M3: 7:23
M4: 7:19
M5: 7:24
M6: 7:22
M7: 8:08 (Oh shit, Caitlin & Page have to stop for the bathroom)
M8: 6:57 (Oh shit, have to catch back up with Margot)
M9: 7:10 (Ugggh, haven’t run this fast in a while)
M10: 7:16 (Must…catch…up. GU ME CAITLIN!)
M11: 7:18 (Is this thing over yet, I’m losin’ it.)
M12: 7:14 (I can hear the band!)
M13: 7:19 (Bringing it in)
M14: 0:44
13.1 Miles: 1:36:37 (Garmin) / 1:36:34 (Official)
3rd in AG / 10th Female / 44th Overall / Avg. 7:22/mi.
I didn’t expect that to happen. I didn’t expect any part of this race to have a 7 in front of any of my paces — I had convinced myself that I was too out of shape to do it. But the course was flat, the scenery was lovely (only a few boring parts) and with the help of Caitlin pacing us and a new friend in Margot, I had an a great time chatting, pushing ourselves, eating Catlin’s Gus, bitching about how we were getting tired, cursing at the fact that mile 12 wasn’t soon enough, then rejoicing at the surprising finish.
I must admit, multiple times I told Caitlin and Margot that I was going to slow down and practice what I preached, but they were so motivating that I just couldn’t give in. If it wasn’t for them, I don’t think I would have even tried to push myself that much (plus, my iPod died — lovely).
As we neared the finish, the high school band was practicing and it was just the extra oomph that I needed. Caitlin told me to “go get that age group award” and she let me go as I made my way to the finish. My legs were toast as they hadn’t run anything near that in a very long time, but we stuck together and had an awesome race.
Somehow, the first thing that we did post finish was grab the free dixie-cups of beer (note to race director: your course was great; the beer could be bigger) and grabbed our free stuff. Did we need it? No. Did they have bags to put it in? Nope. Will we still take it? You betcha!
We found Chicken Face and Lola, and made our way to the results where we found out that Margot got second in her age group and I got third. Yay for Margot (!) but honestly, that third place of mine should have been Caitlin’s. She paced me then let me go ahead in the end. I know, I know, what are we to do?! Not to worry, we devised a great shared-custody plan for the extra bling blang.
Speaking of the bling blang, both the finisher medal and AG awards were HUGE! Nice job, race director, especially for a local event. Also, note to self: do not wear a black long sleeved shirt and a black earwarmer unless you want to experience unnecessary heat torture again. Rookie move.
Today, my ankle and hip are sore. There’s no doubt that I pushed my still-recovery leg and it is throwing a bit of a tantrum. However, the race was the confidence builder I needed to reassure myself that not all is lost and that my friend speed will be back soon.
I couldn’t have asked for a better day and an extra special shout out to Margot and Caitlin for helping me overcome a big mental barrier that I’ve been dealing with lately.
There were also a ton of other big wins over the weekend: congrats again to Aron, Jess, Layla, Kristen, Alyssa and everyone else how had stellar racing weekends!
Happy Running!
Wow, congrats on the come-back half!!
So basically you went out there and just casually THREW DOWN. Congratulations on such a strong run coming back from the injury! Also, just a quick question: I packed all my bags this week so I can move out west to hang with you girls and learn to be fast. Which day is best for you in terms of having me move everything in? Tuesday? Or would Wednesday be better?
Congrats on a great race! You still have a lot of your speed even though you took time off for injury. What I have learned is that once you have the speed, even if you take time off, it comes back quickly!
wow, awesome awesome job, those are some killer paces!
SO MUCH FUN SO MUCH FUN. Now we need to make a plan to do this every weekend =).
Yes. On weekends I can join too, please.
Awesome job – congrats! Hope your leg recovers quickly.
woooot wooot way to go girl!! I am so glad your recovery is going so well… I hope my body starts kicking in to healing so I can get my speed back!!
What an awesome come back race! It’s amazing what our bodies can do for us with the right people to give us a little push
Nicely done!
I had a hunch the 8:30′s weren’t going to happen for you, but I never would have guessed 7:22′s!! 8:00′s flat maybe. The whole time you were busy being feisty and strong with those low 7:00 minute miles, I was alternately thinking “Page is amazing, she’s running so fast just weeks after coming back from time off!” and “oh no, I really hope this isn’t a bad idea for her ankle.” Please tell me that the ankle feels better quickly!
It was great to watch the part of you that feeds off challenge and speed battle (and conquer) the part of you that thought you should be taking it easy. Keep that confidence tucked away during the rest of your training! You are always capable of more than you think.
Rockstar! High ankle- what??
Glad to see you’re back to kicking ass! Send me some of your speed!!
Awesome job!!!! Wow. The fact you ran that time while chatting blows my mind. Sounds like you are back in a big way!
WOW you are FAST! Your recovery run is what many people train to be able to do. What an athlete you are, that’s so awesome. Congratulations on finishing with all those accolades!
congrats page!
sounds like an awesome race!!
You are the one that just commented on my blog saying I was speedy…YOU’RE the one that is SPEEDY! Congrats Page! Go #teamsoas!
Wow, aiming for 8-830 pace and end up with 722? Nice work! I’m assuming that you didn’t overstress your body and that your coach is on top of it – I just hope you don’t get injured again. I did something somewhat similar this weekend, likely should have run ran it at 830, but got antsy and ended running 701.. Sounds like your recovery is going fine.
About the yahoo work from home policy – I’m probably one of the few who thinks it was a bold and good move by Mayer. The media and everyone else seemed to blast her for it. I bet a lot of people will simply not come into the office when June comes, and Yahoo doesn’t have to pay any severance or anything for those people leaving. I agree with her that more and better work gets done if people are working together face to face in an office environment. There are likely some people who have legit arrangements to WFH and put in their fair share, but I like that is saying come to the office or hit the road. Yahoo already makes a lot of money, and it will make even more money with this WFH decision by Mayer.
YOU’RE A BEAST! Maybe you can pace Asia and I at Eugene!
Should be “easy” for you to BQ right..?!?
I don’t know if I’d say BEAST, and I definitely don’t think it would be easy to pace you, but I’m excited for our trip!!
I am curious how you two are splitting the medal now? Joint custody? Congrats to alllll you beautiful ladies!!
Hey lady – I need to read about your 50K! I need details!!!
Congratulations Page! It sounds like you had an absolute blast at your race. Here’s to hoping my April race is just as uplifting (and not as scary as my nightmares are making it out to be..)!
Thank you so much!!
I just found your blog via RoseRunner and holy schmee you are awesome running that quickly after an injury. Glad it worked out for you (not only worked out but way better than expected!). Can’t wait to keep following your training and watching your recovery comeback.
Yay! Glad you’re here and thanks for the nice comment
Whoa lady, congratulations – those are some kick ass splits! So glad your healing strong. Love the picture of you girls “sharing” the medal. You all did incredible!
Rock star! Congrats on an awesome race, Page! Hope your ankle and hip are feeling better! #teamSOAS
Congratulations on an awesome race! Sounds like you’ve healed really well.
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